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Ever had an anti-computer or anti-technology moment? I had one recently when a program I was using “hijacked” my computer and stalled my progress for a few seconds – very annoying!

But some people are in a perpetual anti-technology moment when it comes to marketing their business online. They feel like it is a necessary thing to do today but seem to be annoyed by it all.

Some may express the frustration like this:

“I’m not into all that technology stuff and I don’t like computers”

“It’s just too hard for me, I don’t think I can do it”

“I just pay someone to do that sort of stuff for me”

It may seem strange, but I actually like working with non-geeky people because they have often figured out what it takes to be successful in business and just need some guidance with the online marketing side of things.

But at times business people who aren’t comfortable with technology try to solve their online marketing problems in unhealthy or ineffective ways. This discontent with technology may come out when things get out of sync or priorities are misplaced; the result is a business that is masked from displaying its true energy and passion online.

Here are a few of my experiences…

“I just pay someone to do that stuff for me”

It’s great to form a capable team of people who handle web design, SEO, copywriting, social media, email marketing and more. But how are you going to know if they are doing a good job for you or if they are getting by with sub par work at your expense?

You’ve got to get in there and learn the lingo so you can hold your team accountable by asking smart performance questions. For instance, have each team member define key performance indicators (KPI) to better measure their progress and show you how to track each KPI.

And what about your inability to recognize opportunities that are ripe for the picking? At times there are great opportunities to take advantage of but because you loath dealing with technology you are unaware (and may not want to be “bothered” by them), but it’s likely your team is aware and will gladly inform you if you take the time to show interest, listen and act on it.

“I know how SEO works, you have to pay to play”

Don’t assume that the online marketing world works the same way the business world works. Sometimes it does, but at times it doesn’t; throwing money at the problem might help or it may cause even more problems.

Instead, when dealing with a problem solicit feedback from your team on how to go about solving it before charging forward with an assumption.
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“It worked for us three years ago, let’s do it again”

Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in a bygone era of online marketing and yet expect similar results in today’s online market place.

As you know the online market place changes rapidly and no one can keep up with it all, but you must keep up with the basics of what is working today. If that’s SEO, Adwords, Bing Ads, retargeting, usability, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, content marketing, your team must be able to update you and help you transition to the way it is done today.

This means you must be discerning and flexible enough to roll with the changes. Bonus points for acquiring team members with foresight who see the changes coming with enough lead time to adjust before impact.

Confusion leads to paralysis

Beware of listening to the advice of more than one consultant (who often have different or conflicting philosophies for success).

Do challenge your team on their recommendations but don’t let fear or confusion cause you to delay in moving forward. Make a decision and stick with it for a period of time, then review your progress and make adjustments if necessary. It’s impossible to steer a ship that isn’t moving.

“Social media… who has time for that?”

Some business people are unsure or apathetic about interacting in social media and so it gets outsourced to someone who doesn’t really know how to “speak” for them, but who may be good at building community.

First of all, this creates an unauthentic picture of you and your business in the mind of your prospect.

Realize that one reason social media became popular is because people were sick of getting blasted with advertisements and promotional junk. Essentially they said, let’s get away from these bogus people and create our own community where our group can get together and help each other do our stuff. Try to be respectful of people in social media by not being salesy.

Also, more and more executives and leaders of today, do not want to be viewed as unapproachable and social media is an easy and great way to bridge that gap.

“Lets get our website upgrade done right before the busy season arrives”

If upgrading your website involves more than re-skinning your template, you don’t want to get started on that project anywhere close to an oncoming busy season.

Inevitably a web upgrade is replete with unforeseen problems, added tasks and lots of decisions. When your web designer takes the site live even more problems are exposed. Do you really want to be dealing with this at a time when you are getting a flood of prospect and customer requests?

As one who has assisted with numerous web upgrades, allow me to answer that for you… “Lets put the web upgrade on hold until after things cool off this year.”

I could go on, but when I recognize problems like these 6 where the root cause is an executive who has an aversion to technology, I’ve been known to employ some unconventional tactics to inspire change (wouldn’t you like to know).

If you find it challenging to get comfortable with online marketing, you aren’t alone. Many business people have made friends with technology and kinda like it now because they dug in, got familiar with it, made better decisions and are reaping the rewards.